Rejoining the 11-country pact could be a sharp reversal of fortune for many American industries that stood to benefit from the trade agreement’s favorable terms and Republican lawmakers who supported the pact. The deal, which was negotiated by the Obama administration, was largely viewed as a tool to prod China into making the type of economic reforms that the United States and others have long wanted.

Both Democrats and Republicans attacked the deal during the president campaign, but many business leaders were disappointed when Mr. Trump withdrew from agreement, arguing that the United States would end up with less favorable terms attempting to broker an array of individual trade pacts and that scrapping the deal would empower China.

Republicans in Congress have also been skeptical of Mr. Trump’s tendencies on trade, and 25 Republican senators sent a letter to Mr. Trump urging him to re-engage with the pact “so that the American people can prosper from the tremendous opportunities that these trading partners bring.”

Mr. Trump had remained sharply critical of the pact and said that he would instead negotiate trade agreements one on one, a tactic he says gives the United States better leverage over its trading partners.

Rejoining the TPP could be a complex task. The remaining 11 countries have spent months renegotiating a pact that lacks the United States market and finally agreed to a sweeping multinational deal this year. Eswar Prasad, a trade expert at Cornell University, said it was difficult to imagine that the United States would be “welcomed with open arms” by the current members or have much leverage in reshaping the deal.

And in the past, the president has floated policies, like cooperating with Democrats on legislation governing immigration and gun rights, that he has subsequently backed down on….

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James’ comment about Hillary Clinton’s position on the Trans Pacific Partnership is mistaken.

She certainly supported TPP at the beginning (after all, she was not only Bill Clinton’s wife, but Obama’s first Secretary of State), but under pressure from the Democratic base, the labor movement, union members and Bernie Sanders’ supporters, she reversed her position during the primary election season to oppose ratifying TPP.

See, for example,

Hillary Clinton flip-flops on Trans-Pacific Partnership
By Lauren Carroll at Politifact on Thursday, October 8th, 2015 at 4:19 p.m.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks with PBS Newshour’s Judy Woodruff about her position on the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal Oct. 7, 2015.
Since the start of her 2016 campaign, Hillary Clinton hasn’t taken a strong position on the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal — saying she would reserve judgment until the deal was finalized.

Well, the negotiations recently came to a close, and Clinton promptly announced that she opposes the deal.

“As of today, I am not in favor of what I have learned about it,” she said in an Oct. 8 interview with PBS Newshour’s Judy Woodruff, adding, “I don’t believe it’s going to meet the high bar I have set.”

This stance has some people scratching their heads, because she praised the negotiations while serving as secretary of state.

We thought we should take a look back and see how Clinton’s position on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has evolved. She has addressed the trade deal on a number of occasions since official negotiations started in 2010 (CNN counted at least 45 comments), so we’ll note her most representative remarks in chronological order….